islam doesn't speak, muslims do | "the ink of the scholar is worth more than the blood of the martyr" – Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
This post is not the one on Shi’ism I promised below, but it is still related to Shi’ism. Roy Mottahedeh has a great piece on the nature of the Shi’ah groups in Iraq. Juan Cole has a short summary of the relationship amongst Shi’ah groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Iran. Both men are incredibly knowledgeable and extremely lucid writers. While both are predominantly political, they do give a surprisingly good idea of the religious landscape as well.
Muslim WakeUp! has an interesting article on East Turkestan. I thoroughly enjoyed the article, and had a few thoughts that I posted in the comments, and which I am including here in the entirety. I’m doing this re-publication because I need it to set-up a post I’m working on regarding Shi’ism. A very well researched piece, thank you for sharing. I have two comments on it that I’d like to share. You mention that racial divisions in Islam did not really exist until the colonial period, and I’m not sure that is as true as you indicate. In S. H.…
Been following an interesting ‘blog run by Aziz Poonawalla that Ghost Dog pointed out to me. First, congratulations to the good doctor on the successful oral defense of his dissertation. I don’t know the topic, but based on the ‘blog, I’m probably going to enjoy reading it. Second, time to comment on his ‘blog. He’s using the Blogger system, so I’m not sure how to give him the equivalent of a trackback, so hopefully he’ll forgive me.
In light of the coming day of thanksgiving, we wanted to take a second to recognize a few of people of the virtual ummah who have supported us so far. Again, we have to thank the folks at Muslim WakeUp! who were the first to welcome us and who have been consistent commentors and visitors to the site (yes, Jawad, we mean you.) We’ve been negligient in our activities on their site, and hope to address that situation soon. They’ve also brought a wonderful site to our attention, Al-Musawwir. Further proof that there is a difference between Moslems and Klingons.…
How do you save 70,000 sheep from being exported for slaughter? Feed them pig! Read the following link from the Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/19/1069027168975.html
Last night was Laylat ul-Qadr, the night of power, the night Qur’anic revelation began. “Read in the name of your Lord Who created you from a clot of blood God the most bountiful who taught you by the pen taught what you did not know.” Read is the first command. During a dhikr tasbih last night, I was terribly moved. Group prayer is such a wonderful experience and the loud recitation, late at night, is a good way to feel the presence of the Divine. It was a lovely and indescribable. Just wanted to share. Back to the first command.…
I’ve been sitting on this link for too long, for now good reason other than poor time management. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s remarks at an official iftâr. He says all the right things. Very nice overall.
Today Yahoo! News is reporting about the number of religious attacks made against Jews and Muslims in 2002. According to the FBI, the number of attacks against Jews greatly outnumbered those against Muslims. More telling are the numbers from 2001, where attacks against Jews outnumbered attacks against Muslims almost 2-1. Now, there very good reasons as to why the numbers of attacks against Muslims might be depressed, particularly in 2001 (see the DRUM website for an immigration angle). However, I still find the numbers telling. Judeophobia and Islamophobia spring from the same well [see Ali Asani’s excellent speech on the…
I’m a Muslim. Surprise. Quite happy to be one. Like my islam. So, whenever I see a positive article on Islam or Muslims, especially in these times, I feel the requite rush of pleasure. Then I think about the article, and realize that more often than not it attempts to divide “good” Muslims – the subject of the article – from “bad” Muslims – the ones you normally read about. In many ways, it is a failure on our parts, as Muslims, to take responsibility for the acts of our brethren. Some acts are reprehensible, but to deny the fact…